Each Fall and Spring, I took my 4th graders into
the Great Outdoors for a day of hiking. This was an opportunity to integrate social studies,
science
and math. We traveled from Missouri to the
other side of the Mississippi River to Illinois, and hiked in the
wilds of Fall Creek Gorge.

Besides having fun with science and math
in nature, we carried maps and data sheets on clipboards, and recorded visual,
sound, and touch observations, as well as measurements and sketches (no
tasting!). This is an example of learning content in context, that is,
the students were living the role of explorers and scientists.

Historical
imaginations were set free as students compared their own experiences with what it might have been like
with Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery (1804-1806).